Cabin in the Woods got us to think about why we engage in the ritual of going to horror films. Joss and Drew were critical of how formulaic the horror genre has become, critiquing their own role as scribes and directors with the characters of Richard Jenkins and Bradley Whitford, as glorified knob twisters. They critiqued the roles the characters play as static and one dimensional archetypes, elucidating them as the jock, the fool, the virgin, etc.

Jordan Peele's film engages in a similar project, taking Joss and Drew's critique one step further by making the protagonist of the horror film a person who is usually killed off in the first act. Peele is trying to show the horror young black men feel in everyday society, and does not need to resort to pure archetypes.

The fact that Whitford is in both projects shows his commitment to telling stories about humans, and how we need to tell stories of humans organically, and explore the complex emotions of people not normally the protagonist on screen and life.